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7/3/09

So I was working for The Score doing a pretty good baseball game. Seattle in 11 innings beat Boston 7-6. I fire up Twitter and find out...Hedo Turkoglu is a Raptor. NO say it ain't so. I also find out that his wife is likely the reason why. Doug Christie and Antonio Davis jokes can be inserted here. While in the short term you can debate if this is a good move. I think even in the short term there is no way Hedo is worth 10 million dollars. But I would love to hear a solid argument that can say this is a good deal in the long term. It is not and anyone that tells you it is has lost their mind and you should back away slowly.

Last season I sat back and went with the flow and said sure J.O, why not. A year later I am wiser for it. This move will hurt the Raptors in a terrible way in the long term. A shrinking cap only makes it worse in the long term. There is no reasonable reason to think the NBA Cap will rise in the next 2 seasons. This deal will only get worse as time marches on. This also marks the end for Shawn Marion, Anthony Parker and Joey Graham. I can't say I will miss the last guy on that list at all. In fact after I calm down about this bad contract it will sink in that Joey Graham is out of my life!!!

This move smacks of desperation. But if the intention was to get Chris Bosh on board at least via twitter he seems happy about it.

@chrisbosh- IF IT'S TRUE..Let's get it cracking H Turk!!!

But this fits what Chris has been saying. He is focused on the here and now. But how the heck does this team move forward with him? You got Jose making a major amount of cash with his contract. Bargnani eventual needs to get paid. Now Hedo as well. If Bosh is to get a Max deal can this really happen? It would seem highly unlikely.

This deal seems like a huge risk that Bryan Colangelo has taken on. That being said does anyone think this move makes the Raptors a contender in the East? I will admit it should make them a playoff team. But I am not even sure if it takes them past the first round.

I need to sleep on this but I can't imagine my thoughts will change much. This is a night that some will cheer but they are not seeing the big picture. In the big picture this could be a move that may be one the worst in this team's history. Not a Vince Carter trade bad. But Bad. Think back to the re-signing of Williams, Williams and Davis. People cheered then. Even the NBA commissioner David Stern praised the Raptors off-season as huge step in the right direction. It would turn out to be the exact opposite.

It is not that I dislike Hedo and do not see him as a player that can do things and have value. He was a part of a team that went to the NBA finals. But for this money and this long I can not endorse this in any way shape or form. To much and to long.

This is a deal that needed to be done. He is worth the money. Finally we have someone who can create a shot and close a big game from the perimeter.Get used to it guys the perenial athlete isn't attracted to Toronto when the team isn't a contendor. BC needs to make moves for Bosh, fans ect. This is a good fit. Marion, Joey, Parker is just stagnant. Atleast this brings us some excitement.

You say this is a bad deal...but Marion at 4 years $34 million is a BAD DEAL!!!

Look at both options..take your pick...Turk or a one dimensional Steve Nash needing Marion?

This deal would leave the team with minimal depth at virtually every position. What happens when Bosh and Calderon take their annual trips to the DL?

The starting 5 of Calderon, DeRozan, Turkoglu, Bargnani and Bosh would be great in a video game.. maybe.. But Turkoglu likes having the ball in his hands in the half court. I just don't see it working with him and Calderon, but hey, let them prove me wrong. I envision a lot of late in the 24 3's launching all over the place with mediocre offensive rebounding.

This seems to put even more pressure on DeRozan at the SG spot (if they don't resign AP, JG etc).. I hope he is committed on D at least; I think there's more than enough offensive weapons, but occasional offensive rebounding would be nice.

To Comment #2 (Please Leave Names) make me a deal you come back to this blog and tell me how excited you are then.

As for Derozan and D. Justin Walsh who has interviewed him several times tells me that Demar is all about play D. He really takes pride in it. As proof Justin offered the Job he did on James Harden. He basically shut him down. If there is anything I am confident in Demar Derozan would be it.

James i gotta say that i think he is gunna be a great fit. He can run an offense. ALthough he is overpaid i am happier long and short term with this deal than J.O. last year so i say good luck to hedo and colangelo.We got some cold turkey.

The Raps never offered Joey a contract so unless he's coming back under the veteran's minimum exemption (assuming the team would take him), Joey's not coming back under any scenario. And as much as I like Shawn's abilities, and I'd keep him (for less than Hedo) - He has his flaws and he won't help BC sell season tickets this year.

Raps still have the MLE and bi-annual. Carlos and Linas could both fit under the MLE if no one else is bidding seriously or BC could resign AP for a couple of seasons. There will be back-ups available for the bi-annual exemption this year, teams just aren't going to spend!

No gnashing of teeth over something that might happen 5 years from now. Teams, GMs, and fans live in the now. BC is doing what is necessary to sell season tickets and get back to the playoffs - at least he'd better if he wants to remain employed! No question, signing Hedo will create a buzz about the team and sell tickets! If you're right and Hedo puts us back in the playoffs - THANK YOU BC, playoff games are the best games of any season - no regular season game even comes close!That, in and of itself, would make this a GOOD deal!

And if signing Hedo gets us to a 3 to 5 year playoff run, it'll be the biggest thing to have happened to the Raps in their history! Until MLSE is willing to go 10-20 mil over the luxury tax cap (like LA, Cleveland, Boston, (soon Orlando) - Playoffs is the best we can hope for.

Hedo, BC possibly over paid for him - if the team makes the playoffs - great job!

Mike - "This deal would leave the team with minimal depth at virtually every position."It does - but perhaps not as bad as you may think. In this economy you may pick up more reasonable players to fill out the bench. Plus we have an extra big at the 2 spot.

I'll wait until all the roster moves are complete before deciding on this deal. Say, for argument's sake, we overpaid Hedo by $2M a year - we may be able to get 3 or 4 bench players for $500,000 less each in this environment - netting this amount out. Plus we have a playmaker in crunch time and the best frontcourt in the NBA. I have the same concerns, but we're not done dealing and signing yet.

I wish I could take credit for this, but credit is due to @RapsFan (Twitter ID)“If for no other reason then the message it sends (that the Raptors mean business), the Hedu signing is a good one.”

We signed the top (or 2nd to Gordon) free agent and the NBA is looking at us with a bit more respect. Announces we’re serious about winning, keeping Bosh etc. The players (via Twitter) are pumped. That means something. Will we be a bit sick yrs 3 to 5? Maybe. But I’m all the sudden liking the attitude. Best offensive lineup in years. So what we don't have a great 4th man off the bench?

I must correct myself it would appear the MLE is not possible as well as part of this trade. This is a move that could be great in short term but the bench will be a joke unless more change happens. As for the Euro Look of this team never have been a fan of that.

Doug Smith says the Raps will have to give up both the MLE and bi-annual exception. TSN was reporting the Raps still have the MLE. After a little digging in the CBA, it looks like the Raps will have to renounce the MLE to get this deal done at between $50m and $57m and renounce both the MLE and bi-annual at $60m. Depends on how Hedo's contract is structured as well.Only hope of keeping the exceptions is the bizarre rumour of a sign & trade with Orlando where Marion ends up being shipped off to Portland for Outlaw. The math works but that's pretty wild.

I can't remember a previous free agency period that was this engaging.Way to go BCo!

Yup..I have the sites as well for CBA but have been to busy to look it up. But it does appear that the MLE is dead as well as I had stated above. I really would like to join this Pizza party but I can't avoid looking at the bigger picture of this.

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